Friday 25 November 2016

Jericho's Rumble Odds Continue To Fall And More

Chris Jericho's odds to win the 2017 WWE Royal Rumble have continued to fall over at Betfair.com and PaddyPower.com.

The moves - that took place early yesterday evening - have seen the 'Chris Jericho' selections drop from 8/1 to 5/1 over at Paddy Power and from 10s into 8/1 with Betfair.

I've been following the descent of Jericho's Rumble odds since around the middle of October but didn't feel compelled to bet on him winning the battle royal as I felt that he and Kevin Owens would start a feud in time for the Survivor Series or, at least, by the Royal Rumble.

I was finally open to the potential of Chris Jericho winning the Rumble, to set up a match against Owens, when news came out indicating that the latter could be defending the Universal Championship in the Roadblock main event against Roman Reigns.

At this point last year, I was 100% sure that the 2016 WWE Royal Rumble was Triple H's to lose. As of the time of writing, there are two selections I have high expectations in Jericho (obviously) and John Cena. I have a weakening lean on The Undertaker. He has been slipping due to recent storyline developments and reports from reliable sources.

Of the three, I'm siding more with Jericho, but that's possibly due to me evaluating things because that's where I'll make the most profit from my wagers. I have also been enjoying the Jericho and Owens storyline and would love to see the dynamic between the pair if Jericho is successful on January 29th  It sure would make for some interesting TV on the road to WrestleMania 33.

In this week's issue of the Wrestling Observer Newsletter, Dave Meltzer wrote that there is 'legit talk' about doing an Undertaker versus AJ Styles match for the WWE Championship at the Royal Rumble.

If the match happens, this would obviously rule The Undertaker out of the Rumble outright market. However, it does not remove John Cena from the running. A title win for The Undertaker and a Rumble victory for John Cena  on the same night would immediately set up the WrestleMania 33 match for the WWE Championship.

But then there's AJ Styles.

John Cena has lost numerous times to Styles this year. It could be argued that all these loses were being done for Styles to return the favour in a match that would see his opponent claim his sixteenth world title win.

Cena will end up getting his wins back somehow. If I were to hazard a guess, or rather fantasy book how I would like it to go, I would have Cena not win the Rumble, AJ drop the title to Undertaker and then - at the February PPV - have a meeting between Cena and Styles with the winner getting The Undertaker at Mania.

If the plan is for Kevin Owens to defend the Universal Championship against Jericho, then the scenario I played out with the World Championship could make way for the Rumble winner to come from the Raw brand. Therefore, Chris Jericho remains firmly at the top of my projected Rumble winners.. list.

20 comments:

  1. That's interesting. Fantasy booking wise I was thinking of a fatal 4 way with cena Orton Wyatt and ambrose with winner facing aj styles at wrestlemania.would that be a good idea?

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    1. Depends if the decision is to go with AJ versus Cena at Mania. If so, I like it!

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  2. So what you're saying David, is that Jericho made the list of possible winners? ;)

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    1. HE MADE THE LIST!

      To be fair, there are a handful of names that I've thrown out since January, but he's been at the top for a few weeks now.

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  3. are you sure , they know how WM33 is gonna be booked already?

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    1. They always know the top matches by this time of year.

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  4. I had a free bet from betfair today and put it on jericho :) maybe you guys have a free bet too?

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    1. I didn't get one this time, but have had some in the past. Whenever I do, I always tend to put them on the WWE outright markets.

      Good luck Warren.

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  6. If jericho does win the rumble, should Finn balor be part of the match at wrestlemania after all he never lost it.

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    1. I've stated in the past that Balor should be in the Universal Championship title picture upon his return as he didn't lose the strap in a match, but the Owens and Jericho storyline has become something big in Balor's absence.

      In my opinion, Balor being added to the match doesn't seem right considering how the KO/Y2J thing has been brewing.

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    2. I can understand if people believe he should be in the match based on the reason you gave about him not losing the title in a match. Plus, they were going to have Jericho .vs. Owens .vs. Balor at Hell in a Cell.

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    3. Or may have been Night of Champions.

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    4. Dave the interesting thing now is Kevin owens. he has not impressed at all in his title reign not in terms of matches but in the way he presents himself. And the fact Jericho has overshadowed him tells the story. What can jericho do to make this work and get him over because he's been a complete flop.

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    5. I think Owens has been playing his role fine. Jericho has been overshadowing everybody lately.

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    6. Owens has played behind triple h and jericho the whole time. And the universal title has just slightly gone into irreverence. Is that a fair assessment.

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    7. It isn't Owens' fault. That's how heel world champions are booked, especially with HHH/Stephanie around. Look at Rollins, Orton etc. They have all played second fiddle to them.

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    8. Does that explain why raw is not doing as well as smackdown and at the present time. I guessthe brand split had something to do with it. I guess time will tell if this situation will improve or if we are going back as you said to the Orton, and Rollins authority storyline all over again which needs to end at some point.

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